JPH0520770B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a menu item designation device, and particularly to a menu item designation device in a menu designation method.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when a user wants to specify a desired item, a menu item designation device inputs the item name directly from the keyboard or inputs a code number that corresponds one-to-one to the item name. giving instructions. Other menu item designation devices have recently been developed, such as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-119437, which designate menu items using a menu on a display screen using a mouse device. Ta.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

With the above-mentioned conventional menu item designation device, the designation operation is indirect when using a designation device such as a keyboard, and therefore it is easy to make input specification errors, and when a pointing device such as a mouse is used for direct manipulation, the command operation is indirect. However, it simply replaces keyboard input with a pointing device, and is not a flexible item pointing device that appeals to the user's intuition.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of conventional menu item pointing devices, inherit the direct operation that is an advantage of pointing devices, and
To provide a flexible menu item designation device that is visually easy to understand and allows a user to easily create their own menu by using image data and area coordinates of each item.

[Means for solving problems]

The menu item designation device of the present invention is an item designation device based on a menu designation method, which includes a pointing device that can designate any position on the screen, data representing images of a plurality of menu items, and special display information of the images. base image data storage means that stores in advance the coordinates of a corresponding area on the image data display in one-to-one correspondence with the menu item; means for controlling the area storage means;
means for displaying the image and the area, and by operating the pointing device, the image is specially displayed in conjunction with the pointing device;
It is a menu item designation device for designating the menu item.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present invention is a menu item designation device based on a menu designation method, which includes a pointing device 1 that can designate any position on the screen, and data in which images of a plurality of menu items are stored in advance. Base image data storage means 2
, area coordinate storage means 3 that corresponds one-to-one to the menu items and stores in advance the coordinates of the corresponding area on the image data display, the pointing device 1, and means for controlling the area coordinate storage means 3. 4, and means 5 for displaying these. The pointing device 1 is, for example,
It is a device such as a mouse or a trackball that can be moved arbitrarily on a display screen, and the position (coordinates) at that time can be detected. The base image data storage means 2 is a means for creating image data expressing symbols corresponding to each item in advance using an image scanner, image editor, etc., and actually storing that information. Because it contains a large amount of information, it is usually stored on an optical disk device or a large-capacity magnetic disk device. Further, the area coordinate storage means 3 stores area coordinates on the base image data corresponding to each item in advance.
This is a means of storing data created by designation from a pointing device or keyboard. The area coordinate storage means 3 is realized by a main storage device when the amount of stored data is small, and by a secondary storage device such as a disk or floppy disk when it is large. Furthermore, the control means 4 displays the data stored in the base image data storage means 2, and then actually displays the area from the data stored in the area coordinate storage means 3, so that the symbol of the pointing device is currently Detect whether it is in the area. The display means 5 that actually displays this is composed of a display or the like.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram when using specific data of this embodiment. In this figure, a map of Japan was prepared as the base image data, and it was assumed that the corresponding action could be selected by directly instructing with a pointing device while viewing the map on a display. For example, "Kanto region", "Chubu region", "Kansai region" on the map,
By preparing the area coordinates (coordinates of the area detected by the pointing device) corresponding to . . . and directly specifying the corresponding area, the corresponding action can be executed. In the figure, each area coordinate is a rectangular area, but it may have any shape, and it is within the scope of the present invention if the area coordinate and base image data correspond.

FIG. 2 shows the procedure of the control means used in this embodiment. In Fig. 2, the procedure of the control means is an example where the pointing device is realized by a mouse.
First, the base image data display 11 displays the corresponding image data. Next, the item area display 12 displays the area of the item corresponding to the image data. After that, the pointing device is activated, and in judgment 13, while the button is not pressed, only the item area where the mouse cursor is located at that time is specially displayed (for example, by changing the color or shape). , and notify users accordingly. If the button press is detected in judgment 13, the process proceeds to corresponding area detection 15 to detect the item at the mouse cursor position at the time the button was pressed. This completes the item designation in the menu designation method.

As described above, in this embodiment, the pre-stored base image data is displayed on the display means, and at the same time, the pre-stored area coordinates of each item are drawn as straight lines or corresponding curves. The user only needs to use the pointing device to specify the area of the desired item while looking at the display. If the user makes a mistake, he or she can specify deletion using the pointing device and try again. Specify the item, and if it is correct, complete the item designation in the menu designation method.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention has the effect that the user can directly and easily specify items by using a pointer device in the menu specification method, and furthermore, the present invention has the effect that the user can specify items directly and easily in the menu specification method. Since the specification can be made while looking at the image data), it has the effect of making the specification visually appealing and easy to understand. Furthermore, the present invention has the flexibility of allowing the user to easily designate a menu symbol independently, and even if the designation is made incorrectly, it is possible to easily re-designate it.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a menu item indicating device which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed procedure of the control means 4 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a background image. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence between and area coordinates. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Pointing device, 2... Base image data storage means, 3... Area coordinate storage means, 4...
Control means, 5...Display means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An item designation device based on a menu designation method, which includes a pointing device that can designate any position on the screen, data displaying images of a plurality of menu items, and special display information of the images in advance. storage means for storing the stored base image data; area coordinate storage means for storing in advance the coordinates of a corresponding area on the image data display in one-to-one correspondence with the menu item; the pointing device; and the area storage means. and means for displaying the image and the area, and a menu for specially displaying the image and specifying the menu item by operating the pointing device. Item indicating device.